Spawn ( D-10 feel free to add to this )

[NIMROD]

Been hearing folks saying spawn is on for over a month . D-10 might want to add his . We have seen on some lakes males checking out shallows and some even turned dark on some lakes . But this cold snap should push most out deep . I never fish shallow much even during the actual spawn . Some never move in at all but spawn in water deep as 8' or more . There are usually several false runs I call them when males move up on warm days then leave . Everyone I see comment on eggs in females ready to spawn but when they are ready you can tell. Cut the egg sacks and they will be loose and runny . I have people telling they were spawning for awhile now but all the ones I have caught are still solid egg sacks and even a few males not even turned dark yet . Every lake is different on how fast it warms .
Surface temps have hit mid 60's in several lakes around my area but cooled back down . Some were that warm a month ago and I saw it again this week . Muddy water warms faster but surface temps are just that . It must warm deep enough to keep fish in shallow bays . Most lakes it happens close to same time each year . But can be big span of time from south to north of our state . Mid April is about right most years for my area .

[trypman1]

I agree!

[ArkieJason]

I was catching back in January with eggs and still catching fish with eggs. For me it seems like the best "spawn" fishing is around April 10th till around the 25th.

[Crappie Greg]

I was catching back in January with eggs and still catching fish with eggs. For me it seems like the best "spawn" fishing is around April 10th till around the 25th.

females will have eggs year round they are never completely void of eggs , from December through the spawn is when they will be full aand eggs mature and sacks get fullest closer to dumping them


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[Crappie Greg]

i think amount of daylight is one of the biggest determining factors arond the spawn not just warm water temps, so even with warmer than average late winter temps , the whole spawn thing doesnt come together until , eggs are fully mature, water temps are stable for extended period and the length of dayight hours are is where the eggs will incubate and properly hatch witch is around 3-5 days in perfect conditions


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[D10]

I think the up and down temperature swing definitely has had an impact on the spawn this year (both crappie and bass). The past two weeks we have been conducting our bass electrofishing samples on our AGFC lakes. We sampled about two weeks earlier than a "normal" year (I have no idea what is normal any more). We try to time our samples with the beginning of the bass spawn. It is better to be a little early than a little late when sampling bass. On all of the lakes that we sampled, we either timed the bass spawn during the spawn or were a little late. On a normal year, we see a bunch of crappie (both males and females) on the banks during our bass samples. This year, we saw very few shallow crappie on every lake. The males have started loosing their tuxedos and the females were no longer fat with eggs. This isn't to say that you still wont catch some dark males and females with eggs. As others have pointed out, the spawn can be dragged out for an extended period of time when the water temperatures are yo-yoing. Another factor to consider during years like this year is that when water temperatures get too warm when the photo period (# of daylight hours) is right, this can have a negative impact on the survival of the fertilized eggs and fry. I have also talked to some local anglers who have been observing both crappie and bass with eggs that are past there prime and are in the process of being reabsorbed. Also, I had reports of crappie spawning on some lakes in February. If I were a betting man, I would say that the success of this years spawn and resulting year classes for both crappie and bass will be below average this year on most lakes around here. But keep in mind that below average years classes are not a bad thing. Below average year classes provide more forage for the other fish through reduced competition. This is the same reason why stocking bass and crappie every year in a lake may be counterproductive to growing larger fish. Something to keep in mind.

[LowePro]

On my reservoir I was slamming them during mid february. Weird. If it weren't for my fish-a-holic 4 year old that wants to fish every day even if there is only 5 minutes left of daylight......I would have missed the spawn on my reservoir. I would just take him out there from the bank so he could cast til it got dark and he would just slay em! The first trip I didnt even bring a pole and he was catching em every cast it seemed! I was found myself a limb and stripping some line off his reel and making myself a pole hahahahahahahahaa! Back to my point by the last of february ....it was over.

[NIMROD]

Spawn may be over on some shallow lakes south but not even started in some deeper ones farther north .
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[ArkieJason]

^^^^thats crazy. I've got the next 2 weeks off, going fishing in the morning. Hope I can figure what their doing on the lake I'll be fishing

[LowePro]

Spawn may be over on some shallow lakes south but not even started in some deeper ones farther north .
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I agree with you completely